The Lucky Black 2 Cartridge
by NewBrunswickXNovaScotia
Summary: One Christmas, a girl receives the sequel to the first 5th generation Pokemon game - Pokemon Black 2. As she plays through it, she begins to notice that many of the battles turn in her favour, and she never loses a single battle. "Is it lucky?" she begins to think, "has it been blessed with the magic of Christmas?"...
1. A New Beginning!

It was Christmas Day 2013, and like most kids, I was impatiently looking forward to opening my presents. Eagerly diving towards the Christmas tree, I began to examine the labels on each present to see which ones were for me, and which ones were for my mom and my sister, Melissa.

One of the presents I'd written down on my Christmas list was _Pokemon Black 2_. Three months prior, my mom had gotten me a black Nintendo DS Lite and _Pokemon Black_ (the first one) to go with it. Compared to some other _Pokemon_ games I'd played in the past, this one was quite hard - some of the Gyms took a few tries so that I could successfully win the badge. Elesa especially - thanks to her Volt Switching strategies with both of her Emolga and Zebstrika, it took me a good four tries before the Bolt Badge was in my hands.

I'd seen _Pokemon Black 2_ before - I saw Marriland playing it on YouTube, and I quite enjoyed him playing through the new Unova with new Pokemon. As expected with a sequel, many things had changed between it and the original _Black_ - there were two new Gym Leaders, Roxie & Marlon, and new locations, like Aspertia City (the starting town) and Humilau City, Marlon's hometown.

Catching sight of a square-shaped box under the Christmas tree, I began to get excited. "Is that what I think it is...?" I wondered, recognizing the shape as a Nintendo DS box, even cloaked under blue wrapping paper.

My excitement began to cook inside me as I grabbed hold of the present and slowly began to unwrap it. If it WAS _Pokemon Black 2_, it would complete the duo for the 5th generation of _Pokemon_ games.

As I tore the wrapping paper off the box, I saw a Nintendo DS logo on the spine. That was the first hint as to what it was.

Then, a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection icon, then a black-and-blue background, then...

The present was fully revealed in all its glory: Black Kyurem, one of the new forms of Kyurem (the third legendary of Unova, after Reshiram and Zekrom), and the big, shiny logo below him: _POKEMON BLACK 2 VERSION_.

"All right!" I cheered elatedly, "now I can experience what happens to Unova 2 years later!" And just to see it as part of a collection, I placed _Pokemon Black_, the newly-acquired _Pokemon Black 2_, and _Pokemon SoulSilver_ all next to each other. I felt proud.

After I'd unwrapped all my other Christmas presents - a geography book was one of the others - I rushed upstairs to my bedroom and whipped my Nintendo DS out of its case, then I plugged the _Black 2_ cartridge into the slot, flipped the screen open and flicked the 'POWER' switch on.

After the Nintendo DS logo greeted me, I tapped the button on the main menu to play _Pokemon Black 2_.

The usual copyright info appeared - like Game Freak - then I saw a shadow of Black Kyurem on the screen. I already knew that from the cover on the box that he would be the legendary mascot for this game.

After the intro movie played - showcasing the starters Snivy, Tepig & Oshawott, the new Pokemon Trainers, and of course, Black Kyurem - the logo appeared on the screen: _POKEMON BLACK VERSION 2_, and a rotating 3D model of Black Kyurem at the bottom. He roared when I pressed the Start button, as if to welcome me to the game.

I selected the male Pokemon Trainer, (usually called Nate) and named him Canada. When it came to naming my rival (his default name is Hugh), I named him America. I loved bringing the North American rivalry to _Pokemon_ games.

I wanted _Black 2_ Canada to follow in the footsteps of his ancestor, _Black 1_ Canada, so I chose Tepig, the Fire-type pig Pokemon, as my starter from a newly-designed Bianca, and named him Montreal. (I name Grass starters Toronto-Oshawa-Ottawa, Fire starters Montreal-Longueuil-Quebec, and Water starters Vancouver-Vernon-Salmon Arm, in keeping with calling my trainer Canada).

Feeling excited to start on a brand-new adventure once again, I began to play through the first part of _Black 2_, catching a few more Pokemon in Floccesy Ranch - a female Riolu named Linacy, a female Pidove named Penticton, a female Sewaddle named Laval, and a male Azurill named Aspotogan.

Once I'd trained up all my Pokemon to high-enough levels, I began to challenge the first Gym of the game, the Aspertia Gym in my hometown. I knew the leader from the first game - Cheren, who used to be one of my rivals (along with Bianca). He'd taken the place of the Striaton brothers (Cilan, Chili & Cress) from the first game, and he used Normal Pokemon as his specialist type.

As I engaged in my first Gym battle with Cheren, I chose to start out with Linacy, as she was a Fighting-type (Fighting is super-effective on Normal). However, she didn't have any damage-dealing Fighting moves, so I could only use Quick Attack, which did quite a bit of damage. However, two Work Ups and two Tackles from Cheren's Lillipup were enough to knock Linacy out.

Turning to Montreal, my Tepig, I brought him out onto the field. "Come on, Montreal! You can do this!" I encouraged him as he popped out of his Poke Ball to face Lillipup.

I'd seen Marriland fight this battle on his YouTube playthrough. He'd chosen Snivy instead of Tepig like me, and Cheren's Pokemon thrashed the life out of his entire team, causing him to lose. I didn't want to lose my first Gym battle (well, no-one does) on a brand-new game!

Luckily, Montreal had learned Flame Charge, which was more powerful than Ember, the basic Fire attack. "Go on, Montreal! Please!" I cheered as a whirl of fire engulfed his sprite on-screen and he fiercely smashed into Cheren's Lillipup, bringing her down to about 50% health. Montreal's Speed stat increased, giving me an advantage.

Making use of the Speed boost, I ordered Montreal to use another Flame Charge. Fire swirling, smashing into Lillipup again, another Speed boost... And Lillipup was down!

"YES!" I cheered loudly, doing a victory dance around my room. "Thanks, Cheren! I knew you could do it, Montreal!" Cheren then accepted his defeat, and the Basic Badge was in my hands. The first badge of the game!


	2. Team Plasma Reappears Huh?

Stepping out confidently onto Route 20, filled with pride and joy after winning my first Gym battle against Cheren, I opened up my Pokemon menu and looked at my team so far: Montreal the Tepig, Penticton the Pidove, Linacy the Riolu, Laval the Sewaddle, and Aspotogan the Azurill. I congratulated them all to help me emerge victorious from my fight with Cheren, especially Montreal, as he was the one who had dealt the winning blow.

"The next Gym's in Virbank City," Cheren had told me before I left Aspertia. "The Gym leader there is Roxie the Poison master. I've heard she's a bass guitar player in a rock band..."

I'd heard of Roxie before; she had taken the place of Lenora (the Normal-type Gym leader) from the original _Pokemon Black_. "A bass guitar player?" I thought to myself as I rushed through the gatehouse connecting Aspertia and Route 19, "She sounds pretty cool..."

Back on Route 20, I suddenly felt an ominous presence in the vicinity. Even though all my Pokemon were inside their balls, they could feel the sinister presence, too. Pokemon always seem to feel what their Trainers feel, I thought. Maybe they've got some kind of telepathy.

I stepped onto a hill dotted with trees, and - to my surprise and horror - a Team Plasma grunt was standing right in front of me! She had a different outfit on, though - like a black pirate and ninja outfit together - but I could still recognize her by the blue and black 'P' shield emblazoned on her suit.

"T-Team Plasma?!" I stammered, "B-but... Didn't they disband two years ago, because of my ancestor's heroics?!" (My 'ancestor' being the Canada from the original _Pokemon Black_.)

The Team Plasma grunt had heard me, and she rushed up to me fiercely. "Are those Pokemon yours?" she asked menacingly, indicating the Poke Balls on my belt.

"Yes..." I admitted, feeling guilty and terrorized at the same time. "Aren't you guys, like, fighting for the liberation of Pokemon from the Trainers, or something?"

"Well, that WAS our goal two years ago," said the Team Plasma grunt, "but then that Canada kid and all the Gym leaders of Unova came up and stopped us in our tracks! However, we... uh... 'secretly' reorganized ourselves into two strands."

"Correction," I interrupted her, my index finger pointing up, "not ALL the Gym leaders were there to stop Team Plasma. They couldn't get Cilan, Chili and Cress because they were late, apparently. And what are these two 'strands' of Team Plasma, anyway?"

"The left side is those who are loyal to N, our old king. The right side is those who are loyal to Ghetsis - our TRUE king."

"N...?" I thought out loud. "He's the guy who can talk to Pokemon and hear what they're thinking, right?"

Suddenly, the screen flashed rapidly, and I found myself in a battle with the Team Plasma grunt. A Purrloin popped out from its Poke Ball onto the screen, and because Montreal was at the top of my party, I sent him out. I checked his level: 14. "At this point, you're gonna evolve soon, aren't you Montreal?" I asked him cutely.

Montreal burned the Purrloin to the ground (quite literally) by smashing into her with one or two Flame Charges. "Wow! Your Speed's shooting through the roof, Montreal!" I commented, awed by his display.

Next up was a Patrat. No biggie for Montreal. Two Flame Charges, and down. The Team Plasma grunt was defeated.

"WHAT!" she screamed in disbelief, glaring both at me and at her fallen Pokemon on the ground. "How could I lose to a little kid?!"

"I'm not a little kid - I'm, like, 11 or something..." I corrected her again, not exactly sure how old was I.

"Ghetsis WILL hear about this!" the Team Plasma grunt roared her parting shot at me, before zipping off towards Virbank City in a rage.

"I'm still surprised, though," I said to my Pokemon as I also headed down to Virbank, "why are Team Plasma back from the dead when they broke up two years ago...?"


	3. Welcome to Virbank City!

"Hello, Virbank City!" I cheered out loud as I stepped into foggy, rainy Virbank. "Roxie, I'm comin' for ya!"

Excited to earn my second Gym badge, I rushed across the city, seeing a building with the Unova League logo on it - a sure sign that it was a Pokemon Gym.

However, something was wrong. Roxie, the Virbank Gym Leader, was standing off with some Team Plasma grunts on the docks.

"Team Plasma again?!" I wondered to myself, dismayed.

Curious as to what was going on, I came a little closer to Roxie.

"Just who ARE you guys?" Roxie interrogated the Team Plasma grunts, demanding an answer.

"We're Team Plasma," the grunts replied in unison. "And we're here because we want to take over Unova - and fulfil our king Ghetsis' desires!"

"But weren't you guys fighting for the freedom of Pokemon two years ago?" Roxie asked. (How would she know? Roxie wasn't around in the original _Pokemon Black_. Or maybe she was, but I just didn't know of her presence...)

"We were," one Team Plasma grunt remembered, "but this time, the developers made us more open in our outright evil, so they made us just want to rule Unova instead."

"So you guys went from being Pokemon liberators to just wanting to take over Unova..." Roxie thought out loud.

Suddenly, another Team Plasma grunt caught sight of me, as if she recognized me from the stand-off on Route 20. "It's that Canada kid!" she warned her fellow grunts, "he knocked both my Pokemon down with that cursed Tepig of his!"

"How did she know my name...?" I thought quietly, but I then trailed off as all the Team Plasma grunts began escaping in all directions - some rushed back to Route 20, others down to the Virbank Complex, and some jumped onto a boat and whooshed at high speed to Castelia City.

"You..." Roxie started, then she launched into an expletive of insults aimed at the Team Plasma grunts, which for some reason were words that all began with the letter D. The last one especially made me laugh: "DOOFUS!"

Just then, Roxie's father and America, my rival, popped up behind me and Roxie.

"Hey Canada," America greeted me. "Team Plasma were here just now, right?"

"Yes," I replied, "but they just escaped."

"Gah! Whenever we're about to pounce on those Team Plasma punks, they always escape from us!" America complained. "They took my sister's Purrloin five years ago!"

"So that's why he's so mad at them..." I thought to myself. My Pokemon seemed to agree, too - even though they were still inside their Pokeballs.

Pop Roxie then approached his daughter. "Dad..." Roxie began. "Team Plasma... were right here just now..."

"So they were," said Pop Roxie. "But you know what those evil teams are like. They always say they're going to take over the world, but then a kid comes up and stops them once and for all... somehow."

"Like all _Pokemon_ games..." I thought wearily. (At least the main series games, anyway.)

"Hey, I'm an actor over at Pokestar Studios," Pop Roxie suddenly changed the subject, beaming. "Canada, do you know where Pokestar Studios is?"

"No," I replied, obviously a newcomer to Virbank and its surroundings.

Pop Roxie indicated the gatehouse at the northern end of the city. "Go through that gatehouse there, and you'll reach it."

"Apparently, they make movies with your Pokemon!" Roxie cheered. "I might enter my Pokemon in there to see whether they'll be the next big things in Pokewood!"

"Wow! That sounds fantastic!" I cheered too. "I mean, c'mon, my Pokemon are movie stars? Pretty cool, don't you think, America?"

"It sure is," America agreed. "I reckon your Tepig and my Oshawott could go great together in a movie." (America had chosen Oshawott as his starter, since I chose Tepig, so that he could have a type-advantage over my Pokemon. Typical rivals.)

"Well, follow me then! To Pokestar Studios!" Pop Roxie announced, and he set off towards the gatehouse, with Roxie following soon after. "Comin', Dad!" she shouted after him.

"C'mon, America! Let's be movie stars!" I called out to America as I also rushed towards the gatehouse, and he ran after me, his Oshawott tailing him.


	4. Let's Be Movie Stars!

Me, America, Roxie and Pop Roxie (and our Pokemon too) all arrived in the Hollywood-like wonderland that was Pokestar Studios. Everywhere we looked, there were huge movie studios, massive cameras, movie stars' trailers, and of course, the actors and actresses themselves - be they human or Pokemon.

"What d'you think, Canada?" Roxie asked me. "It's a pretty exciting place, huh?"

"Well, of course!" I agreed, and so did my Pokemon. "I mean, it's the Pokemon world's version of Hollywood! We're going to be famous!" America and his Oshawott also agreed.

Just at that moment, a moustached man approached us. He wore dark sunglasses which reflected all the bright lights of the studio, like the neon decorations of Nimbasa City.

"Hello! I'm Stu Deeoh," he introduced himself cheerfully. "I'm one of the directors here at Pokestar Studios! We help turn pieces of your imagination into flicks on the big screen with you and your Pokemon! And here's one of my alumni..."

A young woman who looked somewhat familiar slowly popped out from behind Stu. She was wearing some kind of wristbands that had an illuminated green light in the middle, and she wore a dark pink tank top.

I somehow knew all the Gym leaders from all the regions (Unova included), so I assumed out loud to her, "You must be Sabrina... the Psychic master from the Kanto region." (_Pokemon X & Y_ obviously weren't out when _Pokemon Black 2 & White 2_ were out, so Kalos didn't exist back then. Or maybe it did, but we just didn't know.)

"That is correct..." Sabrina affirmed me. I obviously expected this, being psychic. "And you are Canada, I presume."

"Yeah, that's right..." I replied uneasily. "But since when was she an actress...?" I thought to myself, intrigued.

"I gotta say Sabrina, you REALLY do look like an actress with that style!" America commented rather loudly, and his Oshawott giggled, but Sabrina just gazed at him, with almost no emotion on her face.

"Well, she does," said Roxie. "Say, any chance I could provide the soundtrack to one of your upcoming productions? I play bass guitar, y'know..."

"I see what you mean," replied Stu. "Anyway, enough chatting. It's better to experience Pokestar Studios for yourself! Come on over to my studio, Canada! And everyone else, too!"

I whooped with excitement and rushed after Stu down to his studio, with Roxie, Pop Roxie and America following soon after. Sabrina stayed behind, staring out to sea on the lookout near the studios.

Once inside the studio, Stu taught me about the different sets, scripts and props I could use to make a movie.

"And your Pokemon will be the actors!" added Stu excitedly. "Now, you can use either your own Pokemon, or use Pokemon provided by the studios. Since this is your first time here, you'll be using our Pokemon, but you can use your own later on."

"Sounds pretty fantastic," I replied, then I saw a masked man dressed in blue and white stepped onto the set. I knew him as Brycen the Ice master from the original _Pokemon Black_.

"Oh! I remember! Someone told my ancestor that Brycen used to be in the movies once!" I recalled out loud, and because of that, Brycen heard me.

"Well, I've gone back to acting now, because I gave up my position as a Gym leader at the Icirrus Gym," he replied, examining the set.

"So who's the Gym leader in Icirrus now?" I asked him.

"Nobody," Brycen replied. "Drayden from Opelucid took my place, and now Marlon from Humilau is the final Gym leader."

"Well, we're here because we make movies!" Stu suddenly interrupted, and I got handed a Riolu - not my Linacy, but the studio's own Riolu. "Why have I got a Riolu?" I asked myself...

"Action!" called the director, and the lights suddenly flashed on and illuminated both me and Brycen, and as if by magic, we were both transformed into superheroes at what appeared to be an amusement park.

"The amusement park is in trouble! Brycen-Man has attacked!" the screen of my Nintendo DS told me. "What will you say, Riolu Kid?" ('Riolu Kid' was the name of my superhero character in the movie.)

I examined the two options: I could either say 'Bring it on!' or 'I'm too scared!'

Obviously, I didn't want my character to be called a coward forever, so I chose the 'Bring it on!' line.

A comic book-style cutscene appeared on the screen, with my character and Brycen's in separate panels, and "Bring it on!" appearing in my character's dialog box.

A Pokemon battle commenced, and Brycen-Man sent Vullaby, a Dark/Flying-type Pokemon, out. "Let's go, Riolu!" I announced, sending the movie Riolu out onto the set to battle Brycen-Man's Vullaby.

I opened up the moves menu, and the only move the movie Riolu had was Force Palm. Well, since Fighting is super-effective on Dark, which is what Vullaby is, I selected it.

Riolu put his (well, I assumed it was male) hand on the Vullaby and rapidly pulled it away, but it only did a little nick of damage. "Oh... Because Vullaby is half-Flying, that's why..." I thought sadly, "and Fighting is weak to Flying."

Rather fittingly, Brycen-Man scoffed at me. "Ha! Think your puny little Riolu can hurt my Vullaby?" he laughed nastily, pointing his green sceptre at me to try to indicate me into surrendering. "Well, I'll be able to take over this amusement park, and soon you'll be no more, Riolu Kid!"

"No!" I replied defiantly, not falling for any of his downer talk. "I never give up, even when I'm in trouble! Let's go on, Riolu!"

Riolu uttered his cry, and the moves menu popped back up onto the screen. "Gotta keep going..." I muttered to myself as I selected Force Palm again.

Again, only a little nick of damage was dealt to the Vullaby, and Brycen-Man taunted me again for 'being so puny', but it was the only thing I could do.

After about four more repetitions of the cycle - Force Palm, little damage, jeers from Brycen-Man, repeat - Vullaby was finally knocked down.

"What... Why..." stammered Brycen-Man. "I lost... to..."

"The Riolu Kid?" I smirked at him, and so did the movie Riolu.

"Argh...! The humiliation is too much for me..." Brycen-Man moaned, as the kids in the amusement park started laughing out loud at him. "I must be flying off..."

And with that, he leapt off into the dark of the night, his black and green costume blending into the shadows - rather like the Dark typing of his Vullaby.

"Riolu Kid saved the amusement park from certain doom!" the game cheerily announced when he had completely vanished. "Thank you, Riolu Kid!"

The cameras stopped rolling, and I handed the movie Riolu back to Stu.

"Wow! That was a great display you put on there, Canada!" he praised me. "Now my special effects team will work their magic on the rush, and you should be seeing your masterpiece on the big screen very, very soon!"

I left the studio and met up with America, Roxie and Pop Roxie again.

"How'd it go, Canada?" asked America. "Did you get to be a movie star, like you told me?"

"Yes!" I replied, feeling pumped. "And my Pokemon too... Well, kinda. They only let me have their Riolu, but they DID say I could use my own Pokemon when I make more movies."

Stu then came back outside. "Hey Canada! Your movie's ready to be shown on the big screen! Come along and let's see it!" he announced.

"Wow, that was quick..." I thought, then we all followed Stu over to the cinema.

At the cinema desk, I approached the ticket collector to get my ticket punched. "Oh, you're the producer of the movie, aren't you?" she asked me.

"Yes, well, I was one of the actors," I replied.

"If you took part in any aspect of production in the movie - whether you acted, scripted, or directed - you don't need a ticket. Just go through!" she told me cheerfully, so I rushed through excitedly to the theatre. America, Roxie and Pop Roxie had to get tickets punched since they obviously hadn't been in the movie.

Inside the theatre, we and the rest of the audience all watched the movie I'd made together. I checked the audience's feelings and reactions at regular intervals to see if they were either on the edge of their seats - or on the edge of falling asleep because of boredom.

Once the movie finished, I decided that reception for it was pretty good, since the audience's applause was quite noisy and enthusiastic.

I went outside with America and saw a board which had all the box-office takings for every movie made at Pokestar Studios. To my astonishment, MY movie was right on top!

"Wow! For a first-timer, that's some mighty amount of cash you made back there!" Stu remarked in awe. "Not many people come here, make their first movie and make a million, y'know?"

"Well, since we ARE in a video game, anything is possible," I commented.

"That's right, Canada! Anything is possible... if you believe!" Stu added enthusiastically. "And you will return and make more movies with us, won't you?"

"Well, of course!" I replied. "I mean, who makes just one movie and then none at all afterwards? Gotta keep people eagerly awaiting the next blockbuster, right?"

Roxie was getting a little impatient at being held up for so long. "Aren't ya gonna come battle me at the Virbank Gym, Canada?" she asked, clearly wanting me to get my second badge.

"Yeah, but I gotta train my Pokemon up a little first," I replied, "they're still around Cheren's levels."

"Well, I'm always waiting for whatever box-office hit you'll make next with your Pokemon, Canada!" Stu called out, "Come back any time... Whenever you have time!"

"Gotta get going, Stu! I've got Gym badges to collect!" I called back to him, before me and Roxie rushed out of the Studios and through the gatehouse going back to Virbank.


	5. Canada VS Roxie!

Arriving back in Virbank City after my brief detour to Pokestar Studios, I opened my Pokemon menu up and checked their levels. They were still around 14 or 15, so I would need to train them up about another 3 or 4 levels. Montreal the Tepig was very close to evolving at this point.

A man hanging around the entrance to the Gym recounted his experiences of battling Roxie. "Roxie's poison really stings! It stings, stings, and stiiiiiiiings!" he exclaimed. "But I caught a Magnemite at the Virbank Complex, and I was just fine!"

I knew from the Generation II games (_Pokemon Gold_, _Silver_ & _Crystal_) that Steel-types were immune to Poison-type attacks. Taking the man's tip, I headed down to the Virbank Complex to train up my Pokemon a few more levels and catch a Magnemite to battle Roxie with.

It took a good part of the day to train up all six of my Pokemon to the required levels - while I was at it, I caught a Magnemite and named him Halbrite, because of him being half-Electric-type, and trained him up too.

I was about to leave the Complex, when...

"What? Montreal is evolving!"

I watched in awe as my little Tepig flashed white and began to break up into a luminous cyclone of shiny pixels, picking up speed until it was as fast as a tornado.

After about 10 seconds, the blob of illuminated pixels gathered up again... And flashed to reveal Montreal, now a muscular, bipedal Pignite.

"Congratulations! Your Montreal evolved into Pignite!" the game cheered, playing the evolution fanfare.

"Ha ha! Wow, Montreal, you look a lot bigger now than when you were a Tepig!" I laughed, "my first evolution of _Pokemon Black 2_!"

But I had to cut my celebration short, because now Roxie was entering the Virbank Gym to practise with her band. Eager to win my second Unova League badge, I entered the Gym after her.

As I descended the narrow, neon-lit staircase, the muffled but harsh noise of a rock band echoed through. I knew that was Roxie and her band playing.

Stepping into the Gym, my ears now felt the true volume of Roxie's band - just as loud as standing beside the speakers at a noisy rock concert. My ears thumped with pulsing blood as the rowdy, jarring soundwaves bashed the eardrums inside. "P-O-K-E-M-O-N, POKEMON!" Roxie spelt out loud rhythmically, rocking up and down, plucking the strings of her bass guitar.

"You a Pokemon Trainer?" the DJ at the entrance asked. "Roxie and her bandmates do more than just rock out all day, y'know."

"I know that. I'm here to get the Toxic Badge from her," I replied, flashing my Basic Badge from Cheren at him. "I'm collecting Unova Gym Badges to challenge the Elite Four and the Champion."

"Wow, that the badge from Aspertia?" he remarked, staring at my Basic Badge, "go on then. Roxie wants to give her Toxic Badge out, y'know."

And so I did. Braving the brash rock music blaring from the speakers, I stepped up onto the stage where Roxie and her band were playing. I got to work on battling her bandmates - one had a Koffing, the other had a Venipede. Due to Montreal's Flame Charge (Fire is super-effective on Bug), the Venipede went down easily. (He was still called Montreal at this point - I would have to change his name to better reflect his new evolution.)

"That was a bit short for battling Gym trainers," I thought to myself, "but now the Toxic Badge will soon be mine!"

Filled with confidence, I stepped up to Roxie and pressed the A button.

"What? You want to battle now? In the middle of my band practice?" she snapped, rather irritated at my interruption. "Well, come on, then!"

The Gym leader battle music began to blare out of my DS as a VS banner of me and Roxie popped up on the screen. My second gym battle had just begun!

"You are challenged by Leader Roxie!" the game announced, as her sprite leapt in and strummed aggressively on her bass guitar. A Weezing, the evolved form of Koffing, popped out from its Pokeball on the screen. Conversely, I sent out my Montreal, now a Pignite. (I could have used Halbrite, since he was immune to Poison-type attacks, but I thought Montreal would do more damage.)

I pressed the "FIGHT!" button and selected Flame Charge from the menu. Flames swirled around Montreal's sprite, and he smashed into Roxie's Weezing, whittling his health down to about half. Montreal got a Speed boost after his Flame Charge attack, so now he got another turn. A second Flame Charge, and Weezing was down.

Now came Roxie's king Pokemon - Whirlipede, the first evolution of Venipede. Montreal saw no difficulty in taking this bug down, and he wasn't even intimidated by his huge size.

"Get ready to be burned down the ground, Roxie!" I jeered as I selected a third Flame Charge from Montreal's moves menu. A blazing tornado engulfed Montreal's sprite and smashed into Whirlipede. Due to his weakness his Fire, Whirlipede took super-effective damage.

"Time for the final blow..." I announced, selecting a fourth Flame Charge from the moves menu. Another blazing inferno swirled around Montreal, then he dived straight into Whirlipede's weak spot. He took another heap of super-effective damage... and went down instantly. "Hooray! I've won my second Gym battle!" I cheered as the Gym leader victory fanfare played.

Roxie and her bandmates stopped playing. "I was in the middle of the chorus!" she raged, "but you defeated me. That was, shall I say... A blazing-hot display! Here's the Toxic Badge..."

And with that, the Toxic Badge was in my hands. My second Gym badge!


End file.
